A long sunny day that stretches out in front of you, filled with nothing but sitting and watching beach life go by … well that’s what I’ve had planned for most weekends now but as normal with family life, everything changes and before you know it the weekend is over.  However, early last Sunday morning we did have a brief window in our hectic schedule to snatch a moment down the hut.

I had told our teenagers of our early morning plan the night before but teenagers’ memories can be annoyingly selective sometimes and they chose not to remember and join us.

The best thing after a sea swim is something hot and sweet to warm you up although we didn’t have time to take a dip, we did sit and stare for a long time.  Anyway, I’ve been thinking of different versions of hot chocolate for some time now.  I think I’ve become slightly obsessed.

Geranium and Orange Scented Hot Chocolate (serves 2)

50g plain chocolate, finely chopped

50g milk chocolate, finely chopped

1 large peel of orange skin

2 large scented geranium leaves, bruised

1 pint of milk

I chopped the chocolate at home with a large knife and placed this along with the orange peel and geranium leaves in a bag as I make a fearful mess chopping chocolate and melted chocolate in a beach hut isn’t good.

Place the chocolate, orange peel and geranium leaves in a pan with the milk and bring to just below boiling, whisking from time to time.  Remove the orange peel and leaves and pour into two mugs.